Chris, Thanks for all you good work.
Old Tools Bio for Mark Lucitt follows:

I am a grateful transplant from California, having lived there
my whole life except for 24 years of Navy service which kept me
on the move. Now I am in Northern Virginia and welcome the slower
pace of life. I have always loved working with both wood and
metal, as did my father.

At 16, I inherited about a dozen of his tools, mostly Sears
Craftsman, which might explain my fascination with the type.
I owned my own gunsmith business for many years, but the
government made it too hard and expensive for me and my
customers, so I quit. I accumulated many tools from that
period, including some tailed apprentices for work on rifle
and shotgun stocks.

I have restored many pieces of no-so-old furniture that my
family currently enjoys. My wife and I (yes, she helped)
built two bookcases from rough hewn lumber and they look
like they came from a furniture store. Since we live in a
30 year old house, there is a long list of projects.
The back porch advice will come in handy here, and the
humor always helps.

There are no collector hand tools in my garage, all users.
I have a long WTB list, but I have more patience than
dollars, so my list will always be growing. I really
like old Craftsman tools, and since Stanley made many of
the tools for Sears long ago, the quality was still there.
I am a scary sharp fan and I have some stones but no water
stones...yet.

My first major hand tools project was a nice compartmented
tool box. I am working on some Adirondack chairs now, and when
complete, they will go out on the back porch. Most of my
projects are practical since I don't have the creative gene.
I like white oak for its utility and strength and use tung
oil for almost all my finishing needs. I am excited to
belong to this organization and be in the midst of a group
of folks that appreciate old tools and value the old ways.

See you around.
Sincerely,
Mark

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